Trump Interrupted Himself Mid-Speech To Wave Hello To A Barge On The Ohio River

It seems news coverage of Donald Trump has fully transitioned from otherwise politically-minded pieces of reporting (hoping to keep in line with presidents past) to increasingly crazier catalogs of his many gaffes. Just today, reports indicate his decision to nominateChristopher Wray as the new FBI director wasn’t known by his own White House staff until Trump tweeted it this morning. And with various intelligence chiefs delivering their congressional testimony the day before former FBI head James Comey is scheduled to do the same, moments like these may become even more ridiculous.

Like when the president, while delivering prepared remarks detailing his administration’s “Infrastructure Week” plans on the Ohio River in Cincinnati, interrupted himself mid-speech. Not because he wanted to add one of his characteristic, boisterous flourishes — an addition he frequently made as a presidential candidate and nominee. Rather, Trump stopped mid-sentence because he was distracted by a barge located directly behind on the river, across from where he was speaking. “We’re going to restore America’s industrial might, and I look here and… something,” he said before turning his back on the audience. “Those barges, they’ve been waiting for us to say hello. The captain says, ‘Please wave.’ Hello captain!”

The bit generated a chuckle among the audience. Reporters, pundits and Twitter trolls monitoring the speech elsewhere were also amused.

Goddamn why couldn’t he make the ‘pull-down’ hand gesture to get him to honk the horn. That would be the word’s greatest gift. You could green-screen any video behind that and it would be gold I tell ya.